Travel pillow

ABSTRACT

A travel pillow may include a strap member that may wrap around a user&#39;s eyes and eliminate light. The strap may be removably attached to the travel pillow. The travel pillow may be configured to roll up for storage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisionalpatent application No. 61/513,299, filed Jul. 29, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to pillows and, more particularly, to atravel pillow with an eye strap.

Conventional pillows may not have an eye strap for wrapping around auser's eyes to assist with sleep.

As can be seen, there is a need for travel pillow with an eye strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, an assembly comprises a pillowmember; and a strap member; said strap member including a first end anda second end, said first end attached to said pillow member and saidsecond end attached to said pillow member.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pillow assembly according to one embodimentof the present invention with the strap in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pillow assembly of FIG. 1 with the strapin a closed position;

FIG. 3 is a back view of the pillow assembly of FIG. 1 with the strap ina closed position;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the pillow assembly of FIG. 1 with the pillow ina rolled position;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the pillow assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an ice pack according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the strap in an open position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the strap in an open position;

FIG. 9 is a back view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention showing strap closure;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the strap in a closed position;

FIG. 11 is a front view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the strap in a closed position;

FIG. 12 is a front view of two pillow assemblies according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the straps in closed positions;

FIG. 13 is a top view of a pillow assembly according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with the pillow in a rolledposition; and

FIG. 14 is a front view of the pillow assembly of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is top view of the pillow assembly FIG. 1 separated into apillow cover and a pillow

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Various inventive features are described below that can each be usedindependently of one another or in combination with other features.

An embodiment of the present invention generally provides a travelpillow with a built in eye strap. Conventional pillows may not have aneye strap for wrapping around a user's eyes to assist with sleep. Theeye strap can be wrapped around a user's eyes to eliminate any entranceof light and to hold the pillow firmly to the user's head. Once thepillow is strapped on, the user may not have to re-adjust the pillow orhave the pillow fall out of place while sleeping.

An assembly 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention isshown in FIGS. 1-5. The assembly 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in FIGS. 1-5. The assembly 10 may include apillow member 12 and a strap member 14. Some embodiments of the presentinvention also may include an ice pack 18 (shown in FIG. 6), a built-inice pack pocket 32, or an earplug/headphone pocket 34.

The pillow member 12 may comprise a pillow shaped structure, as shown inFIGS. 7-14. The dimensions and shape of the pillow member 12 may varywith application. For some embodiments, the pillow member 12 maycomprise a rectangular shape and may be between 2-4 inches thick,between 10-12 inches long and between 7-9 inches wide. The pillow member12 may include any fill type material, such as, but not limited to, polyfiber fill, feathers, and memory foam. The pillow member 12 may includeany cover material such as, but not limited to, cotton, silk, polyester,nylon, and other fabrics. For some camping applications, the back sideof the pillow member 12 may include rubber or other durable material.Embodiments including rubber may be designed to enable a person to laytheir head on the ground comfortably.

Regarding FIG. 15, the pillow member 12 may be separated from the pillow30 inside the pillow member 12. For example, the pillow member 12 may bea pillow cover that is separable from a pillow 30 inside the pillowcover.

For some embodiments, the pillow member 12 may include the built-in icepack pocket 32. The built-in ice pack pocket 32 may be designed to holdthe ice pack 18 and may be designed as a natural remedy to soothe awayheadaches. For some embodiments, the pillow member 12 may include theearplug/headphone pocket 34 and may be designed to hold earplugs orheadphones in an easily accessible location.

The strap member 14 may be a strap shaped structure and may include afirst end 22 and a second end 24, as shown in FIG. 1. The dimensions ofthe strap member 14 may vary with application, for example, fordifferent sizes of heads. For some embodiments, the strap member 14 maybe between 18-22 inches long and between 2-3 inches wide. The first end22 may be attached to the pillow member 12. The strap 14 may be designedto be wrapped around a portion of a person, such as a person's head, andthe second end 24 of the strap member 14 may be removably attached tothe pillow member 12. The second end 24 of the strap member 14 may beremovably attached to the pillow member 12 by, for example, hook andloop fasteners 20, such as hook and loop fabric, as shown in FIG. 9. Forsome embodiments, the assembly 10 may be designed to wrap around aperson's knee or other body part in need of comfort. The assembly 10 maybe strapped to the knee to prevent the pain associated with sleepingwith one's knees together. For extra comfort, the inside surface of thestrap member 14 may include lavender and may be designed as a naturalremedy to soothe away headaches.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

1. An assembly comprising: a pillow member; and a strap member; saidstrap member including a first end and a second end, said first endattached to said pillow member and said second end attached to saidpillow member.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said pillow memberincludes a pocket.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said second endof said strap member is removably attached to said strap member.
 4. Theassembly of claim 1, wherein said second end of said strap member isremovably attached to said strap member using hook and loop fasteners.5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein one surface of said strap memberincludes a soft material.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theassembly is configured to roll up and attach to itself.
 7. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the strap member is between 18-22 inches long and2-3 inches wide.
 8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the strap memberincludes lavender.